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Ring Out Wild Bells – Alfred Tennyson

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,


The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,


Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind


For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,


And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,


The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,


The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;


Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,


The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.
Notes

"Ring Out, Wild Bells" is a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Published in


1850, the year he was appointed Poet Laureate, it forms part of In
Memoriam, Tennyson's elegy to Arthur Henry Hallam, his sister's fiancé
who died at the age of twenty-two.
According to a story widely held in Waltham Abbey, and repeated on
many websites (see two examples below), the 'wild bells' in question
were the bells of the Abbey Church. According to the local story,
Tennyson was staying at High Beach in the vicinity and heard the bells
being rung on New Year's Eve.
It is an accepted English custom to ring English Full circle bells to ring
out the old year and ring in the new year over midnight on New Year's
Eve. Sometimes the bells are rung half-muffled for the death of the old
year, then the muffles are removed to ring without muffling to mark the
birth of the new year. In some versions of the story it was a particularly
stormy night and the bells were being swung by the wind rather than by
ringers, but this is highly unlikely given the method of ringing English
full circle bells, which requires a considerable swinging arc before the
clappers will strike the bell.

Stanza-wise Summary

Ring Out Wild Bells is about the new year and all the ways the world
could change for the better. Tennyson takes the phrase “ring out the old,
ring in the new” and twists it in order to “ring out” all the negatives he
sees in the world and “ring in” more positive things.

Ist Stanza
The poem is written in free verse it is separated into eight stanza which
are all four lines long. Each line is roughly 8 syllables long and uses 4
iambs giving the poem a very even rhythm. There is also a consistent
rhyming pattern which adds to the almost musical nature of the poem.
The rhyming pattern is (ABBA) The tone of this poem is debatable as it is
part protest poem and part ode to what the future should look like.
The poem is themed loosely around New Year and its meaning and so it’s
no surprise to see bells mentioned in the first stanza. However they are
described as being wild. This is a striking word to describe them and
helps set the underlying tone for the rest of the poem. The allusions to
the holiday season continue with the narrator describing the light as
being “frosty”. The words used are quite evocative as the narrator uses
the words dying and die in the last two lines, primarily about the year
itself. I think this is describing the fact that the year is drawing to a
conclusion, albeit in a particularly powerful way. The second time death
is used is in the last line of this stanza and refers to a nebulous “him”
who is this? Santa? Jesus?

IInd Stanza
The first line introduces are a familiar concept of ringing in the new year.
Out with the old and in with the new etc. Here bells are described as
being happy rather than wild, this creates a much softer image. It then
proceeds to talk about the year going and instructs to let him go. Here is
this “man” once again, who is he? Is the year being personified? Is the
narrator telling us to let go of the previous year? Or is this referencing an
actual person? The last line of this stanza is a paraphrase of the first line.
Only it’s meaning has been changed significantly. Is the suggestion here
that the “old” is synonymous with the false and the “new” with the true?
It certainly could be interpreted that way.

IIIrd Stanza
Here we see this idea of bell ringing continue. Here the text is telling us
to “ring out” grief. This is an interesting way of saying we need to let go
of things like grief. The emotion is described aptly as sapping the mind.
The next line is quite clever, the word “here” is in particular very
cunning. It’s insertion suggests that we don’t see people here, I think the
here refers to the mortal realm. The suggestion being inferred that we
will see them again but somewhere else, IE on the other side, or in
heaven. In the final two lines of the stanza the narrator calls for an end to
disputes between the classes. These are all concepts that seems
appropriate at Christmas and New Year and tie in with the traditional
meaning of the celebrations.

IVth Stanza
The negativity felt towards the old system is even more clear here as once
again the word dying is used. The things that happened last year (and
probably before that) clearly are felt to have not been working by
Tennyson. When he refers to party Strife in the second stanza is he
referring to bickering politicians? This could be the case. It is clear either
way that he feels the system is broken and he calls for a nobler way of life
and, better manners and purer laws.

Vth Stanza
We see in this stanza the narrator once again describing the negatives
that they see. The things they want to oust going into a new year. What is
interesting is that you can see why the want to get rid of want and sin,
but care? Perhaps they are suggesting they want to get rid of caring for
frivolous things. In the second line the cold is one again mentioned but
this time it is ascribed to the era that they live in. The narrator even
states that they want their own moaning to be “rung out”! Perhaps a bit
of self deprecation just to add a pinch of humour? They request a “fuller
minstrel” a minstrel is another word of a performer.

VIth Stanza
The first line of this stanza seems to be an attack on nepotism and falsely
placed patriotism. Although when you read on he continues to attack the
ideas of civic slander so perhaps he is more unhappy about the local state
of his home country. The things he wants these concepts to be replaced
with are hard not to appreciate he wants to “ring in” love and truth and
goodness. How can you disagree that those aren’t good things to be
espoused heading in to a new year?

VIIth Stanza
In this stanza he argues that we should get rid of disease, which is
perhaps a bit hopeful! In the second line I think the suggestion is that the
love of money is something that should disappear with the new year and
finally he turns his attention to war. He wants to usher it out and replace
it with peace. Whilst it would be amazing if that happened it is unlikely. I
think this highlights the idealist nature of the poem.

VIIIth Stanza
Interestingly this stanza starts with the narrator talking about
introducing rather than doing away with something. He talks about how
he wants mankind to be going forward: Valiant, free, big hearted and
kind. The last line is interesting as he talks about ringing in Christ. Is this
a reference to the second coming? Does he think this is the only way that
the world could be the way he wanted?

Critical Analysis

Background and Deeper Meaning: Ring Out, Wild Bells is a poem


written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson under The Memoriam, A. H. H. The
Memoriam consists of poems written in the loving memory of Arthur
Hallam, Tennyson’s closest friend, whom he had met during his time in
Cambridge and whose death had a profound impact on Tennyson. The
poem mostly focuses on getting over and banishing painful memories of
the past, and embracing the new, awaiting future.
Captured within the lines of the poem, we can see Tennyson’s attempts
to get over the grief of losing his dear friend, Hallam. Hallam has been
chremamorphised, or objectified as the old year, which the poet is
struggling to let go. In fact, in the third stanza, there has been an almost
direct reference to Tennyson telling the mind to let go of grief as the
loved one who is lost, rests in peace. This poem also corroborates that
Tennyson is a theist. His belief in God and his Faith is underlined by
repetition of ringing bells, like in churches and also by the quatrain
structure of the poem, which resembles hymns. The last line of the poem
also gives evidence to this fact as he states that ultimate salvation lies in
Christ. Tennyson’s belief that every man is redeemable is also reflected
by this poem as every time he mentions ringing out despair and evil, it is
accompanied by ringing in of joy and faith. He believes that man, at
heart is truly good and sometimes he digresses from the path of
goodness due to worldly distractions. Tennyson’s optimism and zeal for
renewal is projected via this poem.

Poetic Devices and Rhyming Scheme: Containing eight stanzas, each


consisting of four lines, Ring Out, Wild Bells is the part of an elegy
written for Arthur Hallam, In Memorium A. H. H. Each stanza of the
poem is a quatrain as it consists of four lines. The poem follows an
Enclosed rhyme, i.e. each stanza following the ABBA rhyme scheme. This
gives the poem a recital quality. The presence of personification can be
noted in the first stanza of the poem, where the old or passing year has
been personified as ‘him’. On deep analysis, this can also be called the
opposite, or chremamorphism, as the poem is actually written in
memory of Hallam, who has been objectified as the passing year. The
repetition of ‘Ring Out, Ring In’, gives the poem a touch of rhythm.

Symbolism and Imager: The poet makes an extensive use of imagery to


lay out the scenario of the poetry. The phrases “flying cloud” and “frosty
night”, in the first stanza itself, project an image of a wintry night. This,
followed by the mention of “the year (is) dying in the night”, sets the
mood of the poem and the reader is made aware of Tennyson talking
about the New Year’s Eve. The repeated usage of ringing bells is symbolic
of the poet’s attachment to his Faith. Ringing Bells conjure up an
impression of churches. The mention of Christ in the last stanza is an
attestation to this. In addition to this, bells are rung to both welcome,
and bid farewell. This technique of Diacope, i.e., the repetition of words
broken by some other words, gives a melodious tone to the poem. The
dichotomy used by Tennyson cleverly transports the reader from an
atmosphere of negativity to one of positivity, and exhibits the poet’s
optimism
Theme: Based on the major theme of rejuvenation, Ring Out, Wild Bells
encompasses a range of sub-themes. The first two stanzas majorly deal
with letting go of the past, and embracing the new tomorrow. The poet
does this by talking about bidding goodbye to the past year and letting go
of past sorrows with it. The New Year must be welcomed with the
acceptance of the fact that the past rests in peace. The consequent
stanzas are an appeal for social change and atonement of mankind. The
motifs of fostering brotherhood and living in harmony with fellow
humans are evident. The final stanza has a mention of the subject of
Faith as Tennyson states his belief that salvation is achievable and every
human is redeemable. Optimism is a recurring theme in throughout the
poem, and this is underlined by the contrasts drawn by the ringing out
and ringing in of bells.

Theme Analysis

The main theme of the poem "Ring Out, Wild Bells" by Alfred, Lord
Tennyson is Renewal. This is apparent in the opening stanza where the
poet writes:

The year is dying in the night;


Ring out, wild bells, and let him die

The poem is a discourse on new beginnings - a fresh start for mankind as


a whole, and individuals in particular. There is a call for Truth in this
poem - a doing away once and for all with falsehood and embracing the
dignity and purity of truth.
At its core, "Ring Out, Wild Bells" is an energetic cry for human beings to
dispense with destructive ideologies and beliefs that lead to destructive
actions across the board, as pertains to the human experience. A
spiritual renewal must first take place within the mind of human beings.
Only then can other types of renewal take place, including the physical
renewal of the earth from the destructive effects of war and other
harmful events.
Tennyson calls for an end to grief for those who have died. They are at
rest; we who remain must move on and live. He also calls for and end to
class strife, desiring rich and poor (and all classes in between) to live in
harmony with one another.
The renewal that Tennyson calls for is one where the old order and way
of thinking and doing things is banished for good. The poet desires an
end to political strife. He wants the proper rule of law, in tandem with
good manners - people treating others with respect as they all work for
the common good in society.
Tennyson also desires a renewal in health, both physically and in the
inner man. He speaks of mankind ringing out the "old shapes of foul
disease" as well as ringing out greed. The renewal he talks about will
rejuvenate man, society and the earth.
In the end, Tennyson knows all of the above listed here is a tall order for
human beings to accomplish. Therefore, he calls on the One whom he
believes will accomplish complete Renewal for mankind:

Ring in the Christ that is to be.

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